英国新闻听力 美国辉瑞医药同意支付23亿美元赔款

The pharmaceuticals¹ giant Pfizer has agreed to pay a record 2.3 billion dollars to settle charges related to improper² marketing³ of drugs in the United States. The company was accused of repeatedly trying to sell drugs for uses not approved by regulators. The settlement includes a criminal fine of more than one billion dollars. The US Associate Attorney General, Thomas Perrelli, announcing the settlement, said the Obama administration was determined⁴ to put an end to health care abuses.

Combating health care fraud is one of this Administration's top law enforcement priorities. By all accounts, every year we lose billions of dollars to Medicare and Medicaid funds from fraud. Those billions represent health care dollars that could be spent on medicine, on elder care, on emergency room visits or simply lowering the cost of care.

The deputy head of Afghanistan’s National Intelligence Agency Abdullah Laghmani has been killed in a bomb attack outside a mosque⁵ in the east of the country. A total of 22 people were killed and at least 35 wounded. From Kabul, Chris Morris reports.

The Taliban say one of their suicide bombers⁶ carried out this devastating⁷ attack in the centre of the city of Mehtar Lam, east of Kabul. Among the dead was their main target, Abdullah Laghmani, the deputy head of Afghanistan’s intelligence service. His car was completely destroyed. The attack on such a powerful and high-profile official shows just how strong the Taliban insurgency⁸ is becoming. Despite the pressure they’re under from international military forces, the Taliban have been extending their areas of operation.

The election commission in Afghanistan says that with the votes from more than 60% of polling stations counted, President Hamid Karzai has slightly increased his lead in the presidential election. The commission says President Karzai has just over 47% of the vote while Abdullah Abdullah has 33%. Mr. Abdullah has alleged⁹ a massive fraud in the poll.

The number of victims of the powerful earthquake that struck Java in the Indonesia has continued to climb. More than 30 people are now confirmed dead, crushed by collapsing¹⁰ buildings or falling rocks. Hundreds more have been injured. The quake of magnitude 7 or more shook office towers in the capital Jakarta. From there, Karishma Vaswani reports.

There were scenes of panic in Indonesia’s capital as office workers rushed out of towering skyscrapers¹¹ after a powerful earthquake hit the island of Java. Eyewitnesses¹² spoke¹³ of seeing buildings swaying. Many people traumatized by what they had experienced. Jakarta is about five hours away from the town which is nearest to the epicenter of the earthquake. Tasikmalaya in West Java is a small city in a densely¹⁴ populated area with a population of over a million people.

The BBC has found that millions of dollars worth of minerals from conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to be exported by firms blacklisted by the United Nations. The minerals are used in the manufacture of mobile phones. Both the Congolese army and rebel groups operating in the east of the country tax miners and use the funds to buy weapons. Our Africa correspondent, Karen Allen reports.

A BBC investigation¹⁵ in South Kivu has revealed that a subsidiary of the British metals giant AMC continues to purchase coltan and cassiterite from an exporter, named in a UN report as sourcing minerals from militarized mines. Official government documents obtained by the BBC reveal that millions of dollars worth of minerals continue to be exported by AMC’s Thailand-based subsidiary. In a statement, AMC said it was accelerating its due diligence procedures and had received verbal assurances from its exporter that its purchases didn’t benefit the militia¹⁶.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has insisted that no deal was struck with Libya to secure the release of the Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie airliner¹⁷ bombing. The man, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland two weeks ago on compassionate¹⁸ grounds. He has cancer. Mr. Brown said there’d been no deal on oil and that no private assurances were offered to the Libyan leader.

Israeli archaeologists say they’ve discovered a huge wall in the East Jerusalem built to protect the city’s water supply more than 3,700 years ago. The director of the dig, Ronny Reich said they were the earliest fortifications found in the region and showed that the Canaanite people who built them were a sophisticated civilization. Archaeological digs in the East Jerusalem are highly controversial. Critics say Israel uses them as a political tool in an attempt to bolster¹⁹ Jewish claims to occupied Palestinian land.

美国医药巨头辉瑞同意支付23亿美元赔款，以消除对其药品不当营销的指控。该公司被指控反复试图以药品调控部门未通过的功效销售药物。该解决方案包括超过10亿美元的刑事罚款。美国副检察长汤姆?佩锐里(Tom Perrelli)宣布了该处决方案，称奥巴马政府决心终结医疗保健违法问题。

打击医疗保健诈骗是政府执法的重中之重。据说，每年我们因医疗保健和医疗补助诈骗问题损失数十亿美元。这笔巨款原本应用于支付药品，年长者保健，急救室或简单的降低医疗保健成本。

阿富汗情报部门“国家安全理事会”副主席Abdullah Laghmani在该国东部一清真寺遭遇炸弹袭击身亡。在这起爆炸事件中，共有22人死亡，至少35人受伤。喀布尔，Chris Morris报道。

塔利班分子称，他们的一名自杀式爆炸者在喀布尔东部的米特拉姆中部实施了这场破坏性的爆炸。死者中包括他们的主要目标人物Abdullah Laghmani，阿富汗情报部门副手。他的汽车被完全毁坏。对手握重权的如此高地位的官员实施的袭击表明塔利班分子的活动现在越来越猖獗。尽管受到来自国际军队的压力，塔利班分子仍然在不断扩大其活动范围。

阿富汗选举委员会称，随着超过60%的投票站选票统计完成，现任总统卡尔扎伊在总统选举中的领先优势有轻微增长。选举委员会称，卡尔扎伊总统的支持率为47%，而阿卜杜拉为33%。阿卜杜拉生成投票过程中存在大范围欺诈。

印尼爪哇岛受地震袭击遇害者人数继续增加。现在已有30多人确认死亡，死于倒塌的建筑和滚落的岩石。另有数十人受伤。这次7.0级地震动摇了首都雅加达的办公楼。Karishma Vaswani在雅加达报道。

强烈地震袭击印尼爪哇岛之后，印尼首都雅加达的工作人员冲出摩天大楼，到处是一片惊慌的景象。目击者称见到大厦摇晃。多人因这次经历受到创伤。雅加达距离震中大约有5小时车程。位于西爪哇的Tasikmalaya是一个人口密集的小城市，大约有100多万人口。

BBC发现，来自刚果民主人民共和国冲突地区价值数百万美元的矿产仍由被联合国列入黑名单的公司出口。这些矿石被用于制造手机。刚果军队和反叛组织均向该国东部的矿主征税以购买武器。我们的非洲记者Karen Allen报道。

BBC对基辅南部的调查披露，英国矿产巨头AMC的一家子公司仍然从一家出口商手中购买锡石。该出口商被联合国报告列为纯源矿。BBC获得的官方政府文件披露，价值数百万美元的矿石仍然由AMC驻泰国子公司出口。在一份声明中，AMC称其正在加速预定程序，已经收到其出口商的口头保证，其购买不会使好战分子受益。

英国首相戈登·布朗坚持称，洛克比空难利比亚主犯被释放方面没有与利比亚方面达成任何交易。迈格拉希两周前处于同情被苏格兰监狱释放。他已身患癌症。布朗称，没有任何关于石油方面的交易，也未向利比亚领袖提供任何私下保证。

以色列考古学家称，他们在东耶路撒冷发现一座巨大的围墙，用于保护3,700年前该城市的水源供应。该挖掘项目的负责人Ronny Reich称，这是该地区发现的最早的防御工事，表明建筑给工程的迦南人拥有非常成熟的文明。东耶路撒冷的考古挖掘一直非常有争议。批评称，以色列将其作为政治工具，企图支持犹太人占领巴勒斯坦土地。

1 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

11 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

12 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

17 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

18 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

19 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。